Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
12-3 (1-1)
Stanford
8-5 (1-1)
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado | 37 | 19 | 56 |
| Stanford | 27 | 28 | 55 |
Buffs Hold On For 56-55 Win Over Stanford
January 03, 2016 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
STANFORD, Calif. — Above all else, Colorado basketball coach Tad Boyle is a believer in defense and rebounding. Boyle's philosophy is simple: when your offense goes stagnant, your defense can make the difference.
Boyle's philosophy was tested to its limits Sunday night. His Buffaloes scored 10 points in the final 17 minutes against Stanford — just four in the final 10 minutes — but still somehow, some way managed to escape Maples Pavilion with a heart-stopping 56-55 win over the Cardinal.
"The positive is our program is built for nights like this, when you're on the road and things go dormant for you offensively," Boyle said. "We don't want to have it happen; we're going to get better at that and we're going to learn from that. But we got out of it because we defended. We held them to 31 percent (shooting) and we rebounded enough at the end."
Indeed, the Buffs did enough of everything — barely — to escape with the win and improve to 12-3 overall and 1-1 in Pac-12 play. Most importantly, they head back to Boulder for a three-game home stretch with a very valuable conference road win in their duffel bags.
"We're going to have play better on the road in the future to win games like this," Boyle said, "but any win is a good win."
For roughly 23 minutes Sunday, the Buffs appeared to be on the verge of a comfortable win. Just three minutes into the second half, they had pushed a 10-point halftime lead to 16, 46-30, on a Josh Scott putback.
But from that point on, CU's offense went dormant. The Buffs committed 10 turnovers in the second half (18 for the game), and the Cardinal were more than happy to convert those miscues into points. The 16 point lead dwindled to 10 by the halfway point of the half — 52-42 — and was down to three, 54-51, with 4:14 remaining.
The Buffs didn't help their cause even when presented golden opportunities. George King missed a pair of free throws with 2:31 remaining, and Xavier Talton missed the front end of a one-and-one — his first missed free throw of the season — a minute later.
But just after Stanford had pulled within one on a Michael Humphrey putback with 1:10 remaining, Scott drove the baseline and connected to give CU a 56-53 lead with 49 seconds left. Stanford's Malcom Sheffield then cut the gap to one with a pair of free throws, and on CU's next possession, Scott missed a 3-pointer. Stanford's Rosco Allen, however, stepped on the sideline chasing down the rebound, giving the ball back to CU with six seconds left.
The Buffs, though, turned it over on the inbounds play, and it wasn't until Allen's 3-point desperation shot from just past halfcourt missed its mark at the final buzzer that CU's win was in hand.
"We turned it over, we had some shots that we normally would make that we didn't make, Â we missed foul shots," Boyle said. "We were lucky to win this game."
Scott finished with a 14-point, 14-rebound double-double, his seventh of the season and 30th of his career, while King added 12 and Josh Fortune chipped in 10. Humphrey finished with 19 points for Stanford, the only Cardinal player in double-figure scoring.
The win was also the first time since the 2013-14 season that the Buffs managed to collect a win on the back end of a two-game Pac-12 road trip, snapping the streak at five. It also makes Friday night's 79-65 loss at Cal slightly less damaging.
"You need to win on the road if you want a chance of winning the league or having a good seeding," Scott said. "It was a good win for us. A really important one."
The Buffs led 37-27 at the half on the basis of 50 percent shooting from the field (13-for-26), a 22-15 edge on the boards and 11 assists — nearly doubling the six assists they had in the entire game Friday against Cal. Fortune had 10 points at the half, including three 3-pointers, King had eight and Scott had six points and seven rebounds.
Meanwhile, the Buffs' defense held Stanford's leading scorer, Rosco Allen, scoreless. Allen finished with just seven points — half his average — and shot just 2-for-10 from the field, as he was harassed for most of the evening by Wesley Gordon, who also had six points, nine rebounds and a pair of blocks.
"The job Wesley did on Rosco Allen was terrific," Boyle said.
But in the second half, the Buffs totaled just three assists and 10 turnovers, and Stanford converted CU's 18 total turnovers into 22 points. Colorado did, however, hold a 43-29 final edge in rebounding, and held the Cardinal to just 31 percent shooting (17-for-54).
"I think we got scared at times," Boyle said of the second-half struggles. "There was some fear in our eyes. A lot of guys on the floor hadn't ever been in that situation before. Thank god for Wesley Gordon and Josh Scott. I thought those veteran guys, our big guys, really did a good job."
The Buffs now return home for a three-game stand at the Coors Events Center, beginning with next Friday's 7 p.m. contest vs. Utah (Fox Sports 1).
NOTABLE: Colorado has now won five straight against Stanford, with the Cardinal holding a 9-8 all-time edge in the series. CU has also won its last three games in Maples Pavilion. … CU has outrebounded its opponent 13 times in 15 games this season. … The Buffs' 56 points were the fewest in a conference win since CU beat Oregon 48-47 in Eugene in 2013. … Colorado's 37-27 halftime lead was the first time the Buffs have been ahead at intermission away from the Coors Events Center this season.
GREAT SCOTT: With his seventh double-double of the season and 30th of his career, Scott is now ninth on CU's all-time double-double list. He also tied his season highs in assists (three) and steals (two), and is now sixth on CU's all-time list of games started (104).
DISHING DIMES: Freshman Thomas Akyazili had a career-high five assists, and has 11 over his last three games. He also had three rebounds.
FROM THREE: Fortune had his eighth game with at least three 3-pointers, and his 11-19 from beyond the arc in his last three games.
GORDON ON BOARDS: Gordon's nine rebounds moved him into 26th on CU's all-time list (524). His two blocks were the eighth time this season he's had at least two in a game.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
